Green Brings “Mr. Chairman” to the Akron Woman’s City Club

University of Akron Press author Dr. John C. Green brought his book Mr. Chairman: The Life and Times of Ray C. Bliss to the members of the Akron Woman’s City Club on Tuesday, January 23.

Green, who co-wrote the book with William L. Hershey and serves as the director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, shared interesting insights into the life of Bliss. The Akron-born, nuts-and-bolts Republican used practical politics during his three-decade career as a party chairman at the local, state, and national levels. The innovations he developed during his tenure exist as backbones to U.S. political campaigns today.

“Bliss started using public opinion polling right around the same time the Gallup Poll came out,” said Green.

After finishing his discussion, Green opened the floor for questions. One member of the Akron Woman’s City Club asked how Bliss would feel about the current political climate in Washington, DC, and President Donald Trump.

“I think Bliss would be quite polarized by the division of the two parties,” said Bliss. “Bliss was a big supporter of the two-party system, and had a lot of respect for Democrats. He believed the two parties were necessary for keeping each other in check.”

On President Trump, Green believes Bliss wouldn’t have preferred Trump as a candidate, but once officially selected, would have backed him. “He was all about party unity,” said Green.